Summary:In my opinion this is the Moab Experience. There is nothing like riding this trail. The loop is fairly technical but because the rock gives you complete traction you are able to do things that you would never thought possible. Make sure you bring a lot of water and ride during a non-peak sun time. I made the mistake of riding at 4:00 at the end of July. I thought I was going to die from eat exhaustion.

Recommended Route:If you plan on doing the 12+ mile loop I wouldn't waste time on the practice route. You will get all you need from the full loop.

Other recommended trails in the same area:As far as consistant slick rock riding this is best you will find. Most trails in Moab will give you some slick rock.

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Summary:This is not a full loop review, but will put the trail into context for the none hard-core riders I hope. The morning of day 2 in Moab I headed out to give Slickrock a go. Did the recommended practice loop, as I am an intermediate + rider (42 y/o, 6'3", 202). My legs were a bit tired from a day 1 evening ride on Sovereign. I cleaned everything on the pratcie loop aside from this steep short climb about 2/3rds around, but it was work to get my 29er HT up a few of the climbs. So here is the bottom line from my side, yes I could had jumped out on the main loop, but I was more interested to save a bit and find a nice challenging ride to enjoy Moab; versus be in pain, probably do a lot of walking, and take the chance of stalling on a steep climb and letting gravity have it's way with me. If you are a strong rider, this is a special place to enjoy! Intermediate-ish riders, you definately need to do the practice loop, then truly evaluate if you belong on the trail, versus doing it just to say "I did it." But when you get a taste of a loop like this, it is motivating to me to improve and get stronger for a crack at it in 2011. Side note, had a nice chat with a 60+ y/o guy who was out on the practice loop with his hybrid rigid! Amazing terrain.

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Summary:How does the Slickrock Trail not have more reviews? People come from all over the world to ride this trail, and I can totally understand why. You won't find stuff like this anywhere else. After riding most of the "big" rides in Moab multiple times (Slickrock, Amasa Back, Sovereign, Porcupine Rim), I can say with confidence that the Slickrock is my favorite trail in the region. The route that the trail follows is very well-thought-out in order to challenge the best riders on earth, but allow the less-experienced to find a way to complete it. The climbs can be steep but for the most part are not long. I enjoy this trail more than any other because of the thrill I get from looking back at what I just rode and thinking "Are you kidding?" because the kind of riding you can do here would be impossible anywhere else. Slickrock grips your tires reeeally tight so the steeps where you would peel out on dirt grip without fail, so you can really trust your bike on stuff you would never attempt on normal dirt. Sometimes the route follows up-and-down sections that feel like an all-out roller coaster ride. Granted, in order to fully enjoy these sections you have to be an experienced biker and riding this trail for the third or fourth time helps too (I rode it for the fourth time a few weeks ago, it gets better every visit). There are a lot of great rides in the area, but Slickrock is not to be missed. I hate rating other trails in a review for a particular trail, but there seems to be a lot of that going on in this string, so to rebut I will say that I think this trail is WORLDS better than Porcupine Rim (lots of downhill, but its so sandy and rough towards the bottom its hard to enjoy), and SLIGHTLY better than Amasa Back and Sovereign.

Recommended Route:Do the practice loop, then head toward the main loop. Go clockwise to avoid a long, arduous climb. Both directions are fun though.

Summary:This trail is pretty cool. I have never ridden anything like it anywhere. The ups and downs are pretty steep but they never last for too long. So the aerobic burn on this trail comes from going up short very steep sections. There are some of these areas that I never did see a rider make it up without walking a little bit. The books all rate it as extremely technical but I didn't think it was too technical at all. There are a few spots that I would consider technical but not many. Make sure to get there early in the morning because it gets EXTREMELY busy and you will end up waiting a long time at certain areas for other people to go down or up. Don't miss this one, it is what made Moab famous.

Other recommended trails in the same area:Sovereign singletrack.

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